NBA Top 10 All-Time Assists Leaders

NBA Top 10 All-Time Assists Leaders
NBA Top 10 All-Time Assists Leaders
Court vision plays a huge rule in dishing out quality assists
Court vision plays a huge rule in dishing out quality assists

Great ball-handlers are said to have "eyes at the back of their head". They will know every possible coordinate of their teammates' movement and will read the defense before anyone else on the floor can. Coaches trust them with the ball at clutch season-defining moments, knowing they will make the right play or the right pass at the right time. Their ability to anticipate the play even before it happened makes them stand out in the crowd of numerous ball handlers who can perform fancy wizardry with the ball but nothing of good use.

Playmakers dribble the ball down the floor, scanning the court for drive-in lanes, open spaces for uncontested shots, backdoor cuts for potential alley-oops, screens, pick and rolls and what not. The defence will collapse on them to stop the clear path layup while they find an open man on the 3-point line for a slick dime. The game of Basketball has been blessed to have not just elite scorers but also some gifted passers, who could run the game at their own pace and act as the backbone which holds the offense of their side intact.

Here we take a look at the best 10 all-time great passers the NBA has ever produced and how they affected the game during their time.


#10 Andre Miller

Andre Miller missed just 3 games during his 17-year long career
Andre Miller missed just 3 games during his 17-year long career

Miller was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers as the eighth overall pick in the 1999 NBA draft & went on to become a member of NBA All-Rookie first team. He played for 9 franchises during his stint in the NBA.

In the 2001-02 season, playing for the Cavaliers, Andre Miller was the NBA's Assists leader averaging 16.5 ppg and 10.9 assists per game and set a franchise record for total assists in a season(882). Also, he was the only NBA player to average 10+ points and 10+ assists in that very season.

Currently, he ranks 10th all-time on the NBA's career assists list with an amazing 8,524 dimes to his name.

#9 Chris Paul

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CP3 plays for the Houston Rockets and has been named an NBA All-star 9 times(2008-16) in a row. His passing IQ & ball-handling abilities have earned him the nickname "Point God" and rightly so, his stats hold true as well.

In his third season, Paul came into his own, making his first All-Star Game, contending seriously for the league’s Most Valuable Player award, and leading the Hornets to the second-best record in the Western Conference. He has led the league in assists 4-times in 2008, 2009, 2014 & 2015, averaging a career-high 11.6 assists per game in 2008. He led the league in steals six times along with being in the NBA All-defensive first team 7-times in his career till date.

Chris Paul averages 9.8 career assists and ranks third all-time in terms of assists per game. He has 8,708 assists to his name and is placed at the 9th position on the all-time assists list. In addition to his professional accomplishments, Paul was a pivotal part of the 2008 and 2012 U.S. men’s Olympic basketball teams, both of which won gold medals.

#8 Gary Payton

Payton was nicknamed “The Glove” for the incredibly close proximity that he maintained on defense.
Payton was nicknamed “The Glove” for the incredibly close proximity that he maintained on defense.

Payton was the second overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics, and spent his first 12 and a half seasons with the Sonics.In his last season with the Knicks, 'The Glove' averaged 9.0 assists per game.

Gary Payton averaged 2.9 steals per game in the 1995-96 season, and became the only point guard in the league to win the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award. He was a member of the NBA All-defensive First team for 9 years(1994-2002) in a row.

Payton dished out 8,966 assists during his extraordinary career and is often referred to as "probably the most complete point guard there ever was".

Led by Dwyane Wade and Payton’s contemporary Shaquille O’Neal, the Heat won the NBA title in 2006, giving Payton his one and only NBA Championship ring. Gary was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.

#7 Isiah Thomas

Isiah Thomas played for the Detroit Pistons his entire career.
Isiah Thomas played for the Detroit Pistons his entire career.

During his 13-year career, Thomas became the Pistons’ all-time leader in points, assists, steals, and games played. Thomas' fearless driving ability and ball-handling skills led Detroit to the NBA Finals in 1988, which they lost to the Lakers. Pistons won the NBA Championship for the next two years and Isiah was named Finals MVP in 1990. Detroit’s title teams were noted for their tough, physical play, earning the nickname “Bad Boys.”

Isiah Thomas was the league's leader in assists for the 1984-85 season, averaging an inhuman 13.9 assists per game during that season. He currently has 9,061 assists and is 7th on the all-time assists list, with an insane career average of 9.3 assists per game.

He was a 12-time NBA All-star(1982-93) & was in the All-NBA first team for three years(1984-86) in a row. His jersey #11 was retired by the Pistons franchise and he has been honored as a member of the NBA's 50th Anniversary all-time team.

#6 Oscar Robertson

He was the NBA's Most Valuable Player for the 1963-64 season.
He was the NBA's Most Valuable Player for the 1963-64 season.

Oscar was a gifted passer and was the league leader in assists for 6 years(1961, 1962, 1964-66, 1969), averaging a career-high 11.4 assists in the 1961-62 season. By the time he retired in 1974, Robertson had assisted 9,887 times averaging 9.5 assists per game throughout his career. He is 4th all-time in terms of career assists average and 6th when it comes to total assists.

As a player with the Cincinnati (Ohio) Royals in 1961–62, he averaged double figures in points (30.8), rebounds (12.5), and assists (11.4) per game, a feat unmatched by any other player until Russell Westbrook did so in 2016–17. In his MVP winning season, 'The Big O' averaged 31.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 11 assists per game.

Robertson was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971, where he teamed up with Kareem Abdul Jabbar to win an NBA title. He was also voted one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996.

#5 Magic Johnson

Johnson earned his nickname 'Magic' in high school for his entertaining ball-handling.
Johnson earned his nickname 'Magic' in high school for his entertaining ball-handling.

Johnson was selected by the Lakers as the first overall pick in the 1979 NBA draft. His first championship came in his rookie season as he also became the first rookie to win the NBA Finals MVP award.

Magic Johnson is one of the five players in the history of NBA to have more than 10,000 career assists all-time. With an average of 11.2 assists per game, Magic leads the league in terms of career assists average and has a total of 10,141 career dimes to his name. He was the NBA assists leader for four seasons, averaging a career high of an incredible 13.1 assists per game in the 1983-84 season.

At 6 feet 9 inches, he was a dangerous scorer from anywhere on the court and helped the Lakers win 5 Championships, being named the NBA Finals MVP on three of those trips. He played for the Lakers throughout his career before hanging up his boots in 1996. The franchise eventually went on to retire his #32 jersey as a sign of respect to his contribution to the organisation.

#4 Mark Jackson

Mark is a popular broadcast commentator for ESPN & ABC alongside his former coach Jeff Van Gundy.
Mark is a popular broadcast commentator for ESPN & ABC alongside his former coach Jeff Van Gundy.

Mark Jackson was the 18th pick of the 1987 NBA draft by the New York Knicks & played for the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets in the NBA in a career spanning from 1987 to 2004.

Jackson averaged 13.6 points and 10.6 assists per game in his rookie season, landing him the NBA Rookie of the Year award in 1988.In the 1996-97 season, he averaged 12.3 assists per game and was the league leader in assists that year as well.

Jackson is also known for increasing the popularity of the "tear drop" shot, which he used often to shoot over much larger NBA defenders. He is currently a familiar voice around the NBA as he calls games sitting courtside, with his popular catchphrase "Mama!! There goes that Man" at some of the jaw-dropping moments of the game.

#3 Steve Nash

Steve Nash is an 8-time NBA All Star
Steve Nash is an 8-time NBA
All Star

Steve Nash is considered to be one of the best(if not THE best) point guards the game has ever seen. His behind the back no-look passes amid heavy traffic in the paint were a marvelous sight to witness.

All eyes were pinned on him when he captured NBA Most Valuable Player(MVP) award in 2005, averaging 23.9 points and 11.3 assists per game, also leading the league in assists that very season. He was the NBA leader in assists for four more seasons after this, including his career-high 11.6 assists per game in 2006–07. Not to forget, he won the MVP award in 2006 as well, averaging 20.2 points and 10.2 assists per game. He missed the MVP trophy by a whisker in 2007 to Dirk Nowitzki, which(if won) would have put him in the same class as all-time greats Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and Larry Bird.

Nash has an all-time top 10 career assists average with 8.2 apg throughout his time in the NBA. He has 10,335 assists and is placed at the 3rd spot on the all-time assists list, with the next active player in Chris Paul lagging behind with some 1,500 dimes less.

Steve Nash never won an NBA Championship, but that didn't stop the league from recognising his greatness, as he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.

#2 Jason Kidd

J-Kidd ranks second on the NBA's all-time list of steals
J-Kidd ranks second on the NBA's all-time list of steals

He was selected with the second pick of the 1994 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks and traded to the Phoenix Suns two years later. Kidd was as complete a basketball player as could be, which is evident from the fact that he was a 5-time All-NBA first team member and also a 4-time NBA All-Defensive first team member.

Apart from his remarkable ability to pass the ball - which made him lead the league in assists in 5 seasons during his career - Kidd's rebounding prowess made him a regular triple-double threat. He contributed in a major way in the Mavericks' title run in 2011 mainly because of his exceptional point-guard superpowers and some long-range shooting.

A 10-time All-star and key member of the 2008 Men's Olympics basketball 'Redeem Team'(USA failed to capture gold in 2004) which won the Olympic gold, his greatness was finally recognized by the NBA as he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.

Currently, Kidd ranks 2nd on NBA's all-time assists list with 12,091 assists and also 2nd on the all-time steals list with 2,684 of them stacked against his name.

#1 John Stockton

Stockton spent his entire career playing point-guard for the Utah Jazz
Stockton spent his entire career playing
point-guard
for the Utah Jazz

John Stockton holds the NBA's record for most-career assists(15,806) by a margin of more than 3,000 above the 2nd best Jason Kidd, as well as the record for most career steals(3,265). He had a stupendous court-vision and when it's matched with godlike passing, we get a playmaker who led the league in assists for 9 consecutive(1988-96) seasons.

He was a first round pick by the Jazz in the 1984 NBA Draft and played for Utah throughout his time in the league, averaging 10.5 career assists per game.He formed a formidable duo with Karl Malone, leading the franchise to five conference finals appearances and two berths in the NBA finals (1997, 1998).

He retired in 2003 having never won an NBA championship, but possesses two Olympics Medals from 1992(Dream team) and 1996. Stockton garnered 10 career All-Star Game selections and was named first-team All-NBA twice (1993–94, 1994–95).

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Edited by Moderator -PJ